father/daughter day

last night i asked kevin if i could "stay in bed all day" saturday.

being the amazing man he is, he said "sure!" 

and it wasn't even sarcastic. 

well, that's not exactly how today went,

but it was close.

maybe even better.

kevin took ives to the children's discovery museum in san jose. 

those two have a thing for museums.

they came home for a pit stop,

then headed to palo alto's junior museum & zoo.

ivy's favorite parts of the day were

dancing with kevin in the disco room, 

 "the HUGE tortoise", the bats and peacock,

and telling me what they each ate.

(she's fascinated by what animals eat, especially when it's other animals.)

it was really nice 

hanging out with just e,

then reading outside during his nap

all by myself.

in the peace

and quiet.

but my favorite part

was when everyone was back home.

being in the kitchen getting dinner ready

kevin grilling

garth brooks playing really loud

the kids dancing around us

the weather perfectly cool

and knowing i'll think back on times like this

in the sweetest possible way. 

later on, ivy came running in my bathroom and told me

"mom! i just played basketball and golf. can you give me that?!"

(pointing to the deodorant).

then she flipped her shirt like that and did her thing.

ooh ivy.

happy weekend one and all!

happy birthday kevin

twenty-nine.

it was simple.

but i think he was happy.

chocolate cake and presents with the kids.

ivy was more excited than at her own birthday. 

when kevin rode up on his bike after work

she couldn't contain herself!

it was sweet.
that cake was good. 

eli refused to touch his bite.

he'd reach his fingers close to it and then pull away.

ivy shoveled it in.

then a burger date at the stanford park hotel.

kevin stayed there while interviewing for his job a few months ago

and said they are the best.

yum.. agree.
we planned on bowling, ha.. but we're old and tired.

so we walked & talked with hot chocolate 

(weird to be cold and drinking hot chocolate in august)

and that was that.
thank you mary. 

happy birthday kevin!

i sure do love you.

happy birthday ivy + eli

ivy is three and eli is one!

my babies are growing up.

it doesn't seem totally crazy... it seems just about right.

there's been a lot packed into the past 3 years, so it hasn't flown by.

after all, she's lived in texas, scotland, massachusetts, and now california.

and has visited mexico and charleston extensively :) london, paris, prague, vienna...

she's taken music, art and dance classes and ridden horses.

she wears underwear. and jewelry.

and loves to make believe.

she has a little brother and four (almost five) little cousins.

all at the ripe ole age of three.

so it really didn't sneak up on us.

even still, i can remember her birth like it was yesterday.

12:44AM august 18, 2009.

so long. so, so hard.

her eyes were navy blue.

i'll never forget it.

and now she's three!

a few words to describe ivy: 

creative, dramatic, energetic, feisty, sweet, independent, empathetic, maternal, 

smart, imaginative, shy, wild. 

all rolled into one. she's kind of a mini-me.

and eli.

his first year went by more slowly, since it was mostly in cambridge.

and pretty uneventful.

when i think about our time there, the first thing that pops in my head 

is carrying him around in that bjorn. 

we were attached.

up and down those wretched stairs,

in restaurants, stores and parks,

during church,

all through the town.

me and him. 

so easy, so sweet.

he only wore white onesies. (til like, last week).

i think i can say i successfully kept him a baby a good long time. 

he's had his share of flying though, to texas, mexico, cambridge, charleston and california.

he loves the water, animal crackers, the swing, his striped bear, walking, 

being tickled on the bed, shaking his head no, oat bran muffins,

 holding something in his hand (golf club, stick, pen) 

but probably his favorite thing is being held. 

he's such a mama's boy. 

lucky me. 

ivy requested an "ocean party with alllll the sea animals and a scuba diver in it".

she said that word for word if anyone asked her.

still not sure where that came from, and i really resisted the idea, but an ocean party it was.

mom & gen (with estie!) flew up thursday and planned the whole thing.

life savers!

it turned out really great and we had a fun time. 

{MENU}

ocean blue coolers

hamburger sliders - daddy grilled

seashell pasta

goldfish

fruit

homemade birthday cakes  + ice cream

m&ms

the kids made sea creature picture frames and sand bottles

almond white cake  + cinnamon chocolate cake 

party favor: fish cookie cutter + sprinkles,  ocean stickers

thank you gramma and aunt gen! we miss you already.

happy birthday ivy + eli!!!!

tgif

weekend plans:

--eat donuts

--sleep in 

--swim 

--get some plants planted

--practice walking with eli, he's so close!

--grill! now that our grill man is out of the hospital/bed and back to normal... although he's technically not supposed to eat for 10 more days. 

(that's not happening)

--zoo? 

--try to hem curtains with brooke's tip: stitch witchery!? thank you brooke!

--buy birdseed

--pedicure pretty please

--attempt to reupholster dining chairs, that should be funny

--start gone with the wind

--try not to feel guilty if none of this gets done :)

happy weekend!

out + about

charleston aquarium 

paddle boats - james island park

 cupcake on king

piggy wiggly

chicken + dumplings @ virginia's on king

young picasso - children's museum of the lowcountry 

we love eli too.. he is just usually home sleeping with nana :)

beach bug

happy summer!

 i'm soo glad we get to have a long break here at the beach before our big move. 

let summer begin! 

happy birthday ivy!!

happy birthday sweetheart! i love you!

huge thanks to mom, cindy, gen and nana for all the great help!

(cutest cake in the world from ashley bakery. thanks mom & gen!)